Changing my Profile Picture Doesn’t Mean I Forget

I struggled with trying to find the right time to change my Facebook profile picture. For the past couple of months my picture was one to send love and support for a family and a little boy battling refractory acute myeloid leukemia. But on Shabbat, December 14, Sammy Sommer lost his battle and we lost an amazing little boy who will forever be eight years old and in the short time he lived, he changed the world.

There are thousands who follow Rabbis Phyllis and Michael Sommer’s blog, Superman Sam. They invited us to join in their journey-truly a precious gift. They took us through each moment and were never shy about expressing times of hope and tragedy. We laughed and we cried together.

Many others changed their profile pictures to ones resembling Superman. I was excited to find the Jewish Superman logo. It was a common bond amongst so many friends I do know and now friends recently created because a little boy brought us together.

But when do I change my profile picture? If I change my profile picture will it mean I am choosing to let go? No. It does mean that life moves forward and we take Sammy’s memory with us. It means that our work is not yet done and we have to fight with all of our strength to ensure that no child, no family ever endure what Sammy and the Sommer’s have over the past 18 months.

Today, there are those who have changed their profile pics to: 36+ rabbis are shaving their heads for a little known organization called St. Baldricks Foundation – “a volunteer-driven charity committed to funding the most promising research to find cures for childhood cancers and give survivors long, healthy lives.”

While I am not shaving my head I am trying to help raise money and awareness in order that we can help find a cure. Find a cure so that other ‘Sammy’s’ may live and change the world through their actions. Please, click on the link to St. Baldrick’s Foundation and give.

Yes, I’ve changed my profile picture but I have not nor will I forget Sammy, z’l. He’s changed my life in ways he never knew. He brought me closer to so many and for that, I am grateful. Loss is painful and life is beautiful. Now, it’s time to write the blessings for a new tomorrow.